ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB
INDIANA---A&O Prize honoree for Literary Arts, Norbert Krapf recently shared the cover of his upcoming book of poetry, "Catholic Boy Blues." In the image, there is beauty, but also a haunting quality. "It was taken by the priest who abused me!" he explained. "I found it and remembered it in 1997 after my mother died and I had to go through all her things. There are four poems in the book that reflect on the photo and his possible motivation(s) in giving that photo to my parents." Creating and sharing art is a struggle. Facing painful memories, just as Krapf has struggled is a Genesis opportunity for new birth. More details are available at www.krapfpoetry.com.
Prolog: Angel of Power and Protection
—Sculpture, Bridge to Vatican City, Rome—
What happens when the Angel
falls asleep after the mother
and father who held the baby
have to walk back into their lives
and the boy walks out into
the world and a servant
of God touches him wrong
when the parents aren’t looking?
By the time he is ready to
cross the bridge to Vatican City
his feet will not move forward
but turn in the opposite direction.
It is decades before he
can talk to the old God
by finding his own sacred places
and a new language for praying.
By TAHLIB
Prolog: Angel of Power and Protection
—Sculpture, Bridge to Vatican City, Rome—
What happens when the Angel
falls asleep after the mother
and father who held the baby
have to walk back into their lives
and the boy walks out into
the world and a servant
of God touches him wrong
when the parents aren’t looking?
By the time he is ready to
cross the bridge to Vatican City
his feet will not move forward
but turn in the opposite direction.
It is decades before he
can talk to the old God
by finding his own sacred places
and a new language for praying.
This poem, inspired by a Denis Kelly photograph,
opens Catholic Boy Blues: A Poet’s Journey of Healing,
forthcoming April 2014 from Greystone Publishing,
© 2011 Norbert Krapf
MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013
Norbert & Katherine Krapf
